Close the door on Opportunity?

We have all heard the expression - when one door closes, the other one opens. But have you ever considered closing the door that opens? Why would someone close door of opportunity?
Choices

Recently I was faced with a choice - but I knew I must close one door in hopes and belief that a better door would open. And I had to remind myself repeatedly of the principle of abundance - and that the Universe will provide for us the opportunities we need. But it was not an easy lesson to learn.

Picture yourself as a child on an errand. Your Grandmother has sent you upstairs into her farmhouse to get her a towel from the linen closet. You arrive upstairs only to see a hall way with six doors - all of them closed.

Now you have been to this hallway before - but at that time there were some doors open, and some closed. And behind one of those doors you know is Grandfather's study - and you have been told not to go in there. Standing at the top of the stairs, you know you must make a decision. How you wished Grandmother had been clearer on her instructions!

And so you begin your process of elimination. You timidly open the first door to find that is not the one you want. You proceed to the next and the next each time looking in and backing up because you realize this is these door do not have what you want in them.

Finally you open a door to a room, - it is not the linen closet - but you see a pile of folded laundry across the room - and in that pile is a towel - or what looks like a towel. And beside it is what looks like your favourite book you lost last summer. How exciting! Your curiosity is now peaked and you begin to enter the room and then remember your Grandmother's words. She told you the towel was in the linen closet.

Dilemma!

You look around and this is not the linen closet - however you think you see what you want - and need, plus an exciting discovery - your book. A little nervous - you inch forward - trying to convince yourself that this is the right way. But something keeps nagging at you telling you this is not the path you were to take.

After a few minutes of indecision, you back up to the hallway - peering into the room. You see another door to your right. However it is partially covered by the door to the room you are looking into.

Finally you realize you must close the door to the room you are looking in to, in order to open the next door. And you remember your Grandmother's words. ‘In the linen closet' was where she told you to look. So you close the door - thinking that maybe Grandmother forgot where the towel really was.

Closing the door makes you feel a little frustrated. How you wish there were better directions. However now that you have closed the door - you can open the next. Eureka - there is the towel Grandmother had asked you to get. Grabbing the towel you run down the stairs knowing you had picked the right door after all.

Our pathways are not always clearly marked out

This is so much like our life path and even our business path. As we travel forward we will look into many doors and see interesting things, but decide not to enter or go that direction. And may of these decisions are fairly easy. But eventually there comes a door that swings wide open - a door of incredible opportunity. And although it is not exactly what we are looking for, it will provide much more money and prestige. However, somewhere in our gut we feel that by going through that door that we will be leaving behind a piece of ourselves. And that piece is sometimes the most important piece.

Recently I was faced with this exact same scenario. A door of incredible opportunity opened for me. It offered monetary solutions and prestige. Although it would somewhat limit my current activities - it was a solution that seemed perfect. But as I inched forward, I felt that something was not right.

Chasing the wrong things?

It was then that I realized that I was now chasing money and prestige and not my passion. That was the piece I was going to have to leave behind if I decided to choose to go that direction.

I finally decided not to accept the opportunity, and closed the door. I was distressed wondering if I had made the right decision. Now I had to begin to really exercise my faith and belief that the Universe would provide the right solutions if only I was true to myself and what I believed was my calling. However, when the bank account is empty - this is hard advice to follow - and some would say my decision made little sense.

Within 1 day of making the decision, I began to get emails and phone calls, offering me opportunities to do exactly what I felt I should be doing. In fact I received three separate offers in two days. All of which I was excited to do and fit right in with the direction I knew I must travel. The interesting part about all of this was that I had to close a door of opportunity in order for the right doors to begin opening.

The important lesson I learned was that I must learn to have faith in my ability to know what is right for me and what is not - and not to stray from the path I have chosen to follow.

Sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence. But if you stay put and water the grass you stand on, your grass can be as green - or greener!

Mandie Crawford is a marketing expert, business coach, trainer and motivational speaker who was recently awarded Calgary Business Woman of the Year for her contributions to the business community.

Mandie also has skills and expertise in providing high quality guidance in time management and system implementation for small a medium sized businesses. Her passion as a business and professional development coach is to helps women recognize their value and self worth.